Alan Peter Cayetano

Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano (born October 28, 1970) is a Filipino[3] politician and diplomat serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since 2019. He is concurrently serving as the Representative of Taguig City–Pateros since 2019, previously holding the position from 1998 until 2007. He previously served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018 in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte. From 2007 to 2017, he was a member of the Senate, where he served as Senate Minority Leader from 2010 to 2013, and later became the Senate Majority Leader from 2013 to 2016. Cayetano unsuccessfully ran for vice president in the 2016 elections as the running mate of Rodrigo Duterte.

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Schramm and the surname or paternal family name is Cayetano.

The Honorable Alan Peter Cayetano
26th Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office July 22, 2019
Preceded by	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1st District of City of Taguig and Municipality of Pateros
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2019
Preceded by	Arnel Cerafica
In office June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2007
Preceded by	Dante O. Tinga
Succeeded by	Lani Lopez-Cayetano
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In office May 18, 2017 – October 17, 2018
President	Rodrigo Duterte
Preceded by	Enrique Manalo (Acting)
Succeeded by	Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Senator of the Republic of the Philippines
In office June 30, 2007 – May 17, 2017
Senate positions Chair of the Philippine Senate Agrarian Reform Committee In office July 25, 2016 – May 17, 2017 Preceded by Gregorio Honasan Succeeded by Cynthia Villar Chair of the Philippine Senate Foreign Relations Committee In office July 25, 2016 – May 17, 2017 Preceded by Miriam Defensor Santiago Succeeded by Loren Legarda Senate Majority Leader In office July 23, 2013 – July 25, 2016 Preceded by Gregorio Honasan (Acting) Succeeded by Vicente Sotto III Senate Minority Leader In office July 26, 2010 – July 22, 2013 Preceded by Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Succeeded by Juan Ponce Enrile Chair of the Philippine Senate Blue Ribbon Committee In office July 23, 2007 – February 2, 2009 Preceded by Joker Arroyo Succeeded by Richard J. Gordon
Vice Mayor of Taguig
In office June 30, 1995 – June 30, 1998
Mayor	Isidro Garcia
Preceded by	Daniel Castillo
Member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Taguig from the 2nd district
In office June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1995
Personal details
Born	Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano (1970-10-28) October 28, 1970[1] Mandaluyong, Rizal, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Political party	Nacionalista
Other political affiliations	Lakas (1992–2005)
Spouse(s)	Lani Lopez ( m. 2004) [1][2]
Parents	Rene Cayetano (father) Sandra Schramm (mother)
Relatives	Pia Cayetano (sister) Rene Carl Cayetano (brother) Lino Cayetano (brother)
Residence	Taguig
Alma mater	University of the Philippines (BA) Ateneo de Manila University (JD)
Occupation	Politician, diplomat
Profession	Lawyer

Cayetano was born to a political family currently based in Taguig. His father was the late former senator Rene Cayetano; his older sister, Pia, is an incumbent senator; his younger brother, Lino, is the mayor of Taguig; and his wife, Lani, is the representative of Taguig.

Cayetano was the chairman of the organizing committee for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Early life

Cayetano was born in Mandaluyong to former Senator Renato "Compañero" Cayetano and German-American former school teacher Sandra Schramm.[4] He resides with his family in Bagumbayan, Taguig. His wife, Lani Cayetano, is formerly Mayor of Taguig, and currently a representative of the second district of Taguig at the House of Representatives, His older sister, Pia, is an incumbent Senator (2004–2016; 2019–present) and formerly representing the lone district of Taguig at the House of Representatives, (2016-2019), where he was also a Deputy Speaker. His youngest brother, Lino, is a film and television director, former congressman of Taguig and currently Mayor of Taguig, while his other brother Ren is a former councilor of Muntinlupa.

Political career

16th Congress

After the 2013 elections, at the start of the 16th Congress, Cayetano was elected as the new Senate Majority Floor Leader and was likewise appointed to chair the Senate Committee on Rules.

2016 vice presidential campaign

In a press event held in Davao City, Senator Cayetano announced that he would seek election for Vice President in the 2016 national elections under the Nacionalista Party (Cayetano did not mention who would be his Presidential running mate).[5][6] On November 21, 2015, it was made official that Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte would be his running mate for the 2016 presidential elections. Although his running mate won the presidency, Cayetano was placed 3rd in both unofficial and official vote counts conducted by COMELEC and the Congress, respectively.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs (2017–2018)

On May 10, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Cayetano was appointed as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, following the expiration of the one-year appointment ban on losing candidates of the 2016 elections.[7] Cayetano replaced acting secretary Enrique Manalo, who assumed the post in March 2017 when the Commission on Appointments's (CA) rejected President Duterte's ad interim appointment of Perfecto Yasay Jr. due to the latter's citizenship concerns.[8]

His appointment to the post by President Duterte was approved by the CA's foreign affairs committee on May 17, 2017. Upon approval of the CA's plenary, he will assume the post as foreign secretary and effectively resign from his post as senator.[9] On May 18, Cayetano was sworn in by President Duterte at the Malacañang of the South in Davao City.[10]

As Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Cayetano plans an "objective-based" approach in resolving the territorial disputes of the Philippines, which he describes as negotiation through the use of historical facts, such as the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to defend the Philippines' claims.[11] He also vowed to avoid "microphone diplomacy", which he describes as the continual issuing of public statements instead of privately negotiating the issues with the parties.[12]

Cayetano with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during the former's visit to Washington D.C., September 27, 2017

In January 2018, Filipino Congressman Gary Alejano revealed that the Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano had approved the Chinese Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to perform a scientific survey of the Rise, while disapproving a French research offer in the Philippine Rise. Under the agreement, majority of researchers must be Chinese. On the same month, China told Filipino counterparts that the Philippines has no right in the Philippine Rise. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte's trusted spokesperson Harry Roque embraced and defended China's statement, causing outrage from various Filipino sectors.[13]

In March 2018, Cayatano reiterated that the West Philippine Sea is "disputed," despite an international court backed by the United Nations declared that the Philippines has the sole legal right on the resources of the West Philippine Sea which also deemed the Philippines as the internationally acknowledged country with jurisdiction on the area. Presidential spokesperson Roque also called the area as "disputed," effectively making it as the Duterte administration's policy on the West Philippine Sea. Acting Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, the main proponent of the West Philippine Sea case, told media that the court ruling is clear and that the Filipino foreign secretary and the presidential spokesperson themselves need to be educated more on the matter, because if they continue to call an undisputed area as disputed, China will use it as leverage against the Philippines.[14]

On October 9, 2018, President Duterte announced that Cayetano had planned to run in the May 2019 elections for the post of representative of Taguig city. He eventually resigned as Foreign Secretary on October 17, the last day of filing of certificates of candidacies.[15] He was succeeded by former Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Teodoro Locsin Jr as Foreign Secretary on the same day.

Speaker of the House (2019–present)

On the first day of the 18th Congress of the Philippines, Cayetano was elected House Speaker after gaining 266 votes against Manila 6th District Representative Benny Abante Jr., who garnered 28 votes. Cayetano became the 22nd Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines on July 22, 2019. He was nominated by Representatives Lord Allan Jay Velasco, Martin Romualdez and Presidential Son Rep. Paolo "Pulong" Duterte. These three representatives also announced their intention to run for speaker, but President Rodrigo Duterte gave his endorsement to Cayetano.

Cayetano agreed to a share his term with Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco, while the 1st District Representative of Leyte, Martin Romualdez, who was among the contenders for the office, agreed to become Majority Floor Leader. The term-sharing agreement was influenced by no less than the President.

In 2016, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano was the running mate of the President Rodrigo R. Duterte but lost to the administration bet, Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo.

House Speaker Cayetano is not new to the House of Representatives. In 1998, he was elected 1st District Representative of Taguig City, and served until 2007. That year, he ran for Senator of the Republic and successfully earned a Senate seat. He was a senator for 10 years until President Duterte appointed him in the Department of Foreign Affairs as successor of then-Foreign Sec. Perfecto Yasay after the Commission on Appointments denied Yasay's appointment as secretary of the department.

House Speaker Cayetano, in his first speech as speaker, expressed his gratitude to the President and to the members of the House of Representatives for the trust and confidence they bestowed upon him. Cayetano entered the session hall of the House of Representative with a standing ovation and a loud round of applause. After that, a pray-over was led by Rep. Eddie Villanueva. Right after his speech, the Speaker said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all will be added unto you."

Under the term-sharing agreement, Cayetano will serve for 15 months and will be followed by Velasco in the remaining months of the 18th Congress of the Philippines.

In May 2020, lawmakers blamed Cayetano accountable for the closure[16] of the Philippines' largest broadcasting station, ABS-CBN, allegedly due to his inaction on several bills seeking to renew the station's franchise.[17][18]

SEA Games organizing committee

Cayetano chaired the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), a private organization tasked to organize the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.[19][20] PHISGOC is a private organization with a budget of PHP6 billion tasked to perform the function of a government office, and shares some of its members with the Philippine Sports Commission.[19][21]

The budget became the subject of an inquiry by the Philippine Senate.[22] Cayetano was also questioned about PHP50 million spent for the construction of a cauldron for the opening ceremonies, with one senator remarking that the cost could have been spent building 50 classrooms.[22] The cauldron was described by one Congress representative as "Imeldific," referring to the supposed ostentatiousness of the cauldron.[23] Questions were also raised about mismanagement, faulty preparations, and unfinished facilities.[24]

References

1. "Alan Peter Cayetano Biography". Senate of the Philippines. March 14, 2014. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013.
2. Santos, Reynaldo Jr. (September 29, 2015). "10 things to know about Alan Peter Cayetano". Rappler. Rappler. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
3. "Comelec says Alan Peter a Pinoy, junks DQ bid". GMA News. April 24, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
4. "The Manila Times Internet Edition - WEEKEND >The independent". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009.
5. Viray, Patricia Lourdes (September 19, 2015). "Cayetano to run for VP". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
6. "Alan Cayetano announces 2016 VP run in Davao City". GMA News. September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
7. Reganit, Cielito (May 10, 2017). "Pres. Duterte appoints Cayetano as next DFA chief". Philippine News Agency. Philippines News Agency. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
8. Santos, Eimor (May 10, 2017). "Duterte appoints Cayetano as DFA chief". CNN Philippines. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
9. "CA panel approves Cayetano appointment as DFA chief". CNN Philippines. May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017. The committee's decision [of approving Cayetano's appointment] will now be referred to the plenary, which will vote to approve or reject the [Commission of Appointments] panel's ruling.
10. Sabillo, Kristine Angeli (May 18, 2017). "Duterte administers oath to new DFA chief Cayetano". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
11. Punzalan, Jamaine (May 17, 2017). "After breezing through CA, Cayetano is officially DFA chief". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
12. Sabillo, Kristine Angeli (May 12, 2017). "New DFA Sec. Cayetano won't use 'microphone diplomacy'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
13. Amurao, George (January 18, 2018). "China eyes Philippines' strategic eastern shores". Asia Times.
14. "Archived copy". Rappler. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. "Archived copy". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. Cruz, Jovee Marie de la (May 6, 2020). "Cayetano blamed for ABS-CBN closure | Jovee Marie de la Cruz". BusinessMirror. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
17. Cepeda, Mara. "'Pagkukulang niya ito sa bayan': Lawmakers blame Cayetano for ABS-CBN shutdown". Rappler. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
18. "Lawmakers blame Cayetano for Inaction on ABS-CBN franchise". Filipino Times.
19. Madarang, Catalina Ricci S. (November 28, 2019). "The role of the Cayetano-led Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee, explained". Interaksyon. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
20. Esguerra, Darryl John (July 24, 2019). "Cayetano-led Phisgoc Foundation stays as 2019 SEA Games organizer". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
21. Cepeda, Mara (November 29, 2019). "Multi-billion SEA Games 2019 fund follows Cayetano where he goes". Rappler. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
22. Colcol, Erwin (November 21, 2019). "It doesn't matter if SEA Games funded by loan —Cayetano". MSN. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
23. Madarang, Catalina Ricci S. (November 25, 2019). "SEA Games cauldron looks like a scaled down version of Mañosa's 1996 Centennial Tower design". Interaksyon. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
24. Santos, Ana P. (March 12, 2019). "Corruption scandals plague Philippines' Southeast Asian Games | DW | December 3, 2019". DW. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

External links

• Official website

House of Representatives of the Philippines
Preceded by Dante O. Tinga	Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Lone District of Taguig City-Pateros 1998–2007	Succeeded by Lani Lopez-Cayetano
Preceded by Arnel Cerafica	Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Lone District of Taguig City-Pateros 2019–present	Incumbent
Senate of the Philippines
Preceded by Gregorio Honasan	Chair of the Philippine Senate Agrarian Reform Committee 2016–2017	Succeeded by Cynthia Villar
Preceded by Miriam Defensor Santiago	Chair of the Philippine Senate Foreign Relations Committee 2016–2017	Succeeded by Loren Legarda
Preceded by Joker Arroyo	Chair of the Philippine Senate Blue Ribbon Committee 2007–2009	Succeeded by Richard J. Gordon
Political offices
Preceded by Aquilino Pimentel Jr.	Minority Floor Leader of the Senate of the Philippines 2010–2013	Succeeded by Juan Ponce Enrile
Preceded by Gregorio Honasan Acting	Majority Floor Leader of the Senate of the Philippines 2013–2016	Succeeded by Vicente Sotto III
Preceded by Enrique Manalo Acting	Secretary of Foreign Affairs 2017-2018	Succeeded by Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Preceded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo	Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines 2019–present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by Vicente Sotto III as President of the Senate of the Philippines	Order of Precedence of the Philippines as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines	Succeeded by Diosdado Peralta as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Lines of succession
Preceded by Vicente Sotto III as President of the Senate of the Philippines	Philippine presidential line of succession as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines	Last